| SpaceX Crew-4 | |
| Names List: | USCV-4 |
| Mission Type: | ISS crew transport |
| Operator: | SpaceX |
| Mission Duration: | [1] [2] |
| Manufacturer: | SpaceX |
| Crew Size: | 4 |
| Crew Expedition: | Expedition 67/68 |
| Launch Date: | UTC (3:52:55amEDT)[3] |
| Launch Rocket: | Falcon 9 Block 5 B1067-4 |
| Launch Site: | Kennedy, LC39A |
| Landing Date: | UTC (4:55:27pmEDT) |
| Landing Site: | Atlantic Ocean, near Jacksonville, Florida[4] |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric orbit |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth orbit |
| Orbit Inclination: | 51.64° |
| Docking: | |
| Insignia Caption: | NASA (left), SpaceX (middle), and ESA (right) mission patches |
| Crew Photo: | SpaceX Crew-4 Official Portrait.jpg |
| Crew Photo Caption: | From left: Hines, Cristoforetti, Watkins and Lindgren |
| Programme: | Commercial Crew Program |
| Previous Mission: | SpaceX Crew-3 |
| Next Mission: | SpaceX Crew-5 |
| Programme2: | Crew Dragon flights |
| Previous Mission2: | Axiom Mission 1 |
| Next Mission2: | SpaceX Crew-5 |
SpaceX Crew-4 was the Crew Dragon's fourth NASA Commercial Crew operational flight, and its seventh overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on April 27, 2022, at 07:52 UTC[6] before docking with the International Space Station (ISS) at 23:37UTC. It followed shortly after the private Axiom 1 mission to the ISS earlier in the month utilizing SpaceX hardware. Three American (NASA) astronauts and one European (ESA) astronaut were on board the mission.
Crew-4 was the maiden flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, named such by the crew because it "celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit".[7] The booster used on this mission was the B1067, which makes it the first Commercial Crew mission to use a booster on its fourth flight (it previously was used to launch SpaceX Crew-3 in 2021).[8]
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Robert Hines were announced on February 12, 2021, to the crew. Samantha Cristoforetti was named the commander of Expedition 68 on May 28, 2021.[9] Jessica Watkins was named mission specialist on November 16, 2021.[10] Cristoforetti was later removed as commander of Expedition 68 due to the shortening of the Crew-4 mission.[11]
The mission duration was 170 days.[4] The European part of the mission was called Minerva, named after the Roman goddess of wisdom,[12] and it was European astronaut Cristoforetti's second mission to the ISS.
